Finn McQuaid

The 2.1 million people trapped in the war zone that is #Gaza are facing yet another killer on top of bombs and bullets: starvation.

We demand full access to deliver aid.
We demand the release of all hostages.
We demand a ceasefire.
We demand a political solution.

Starvation is a horrific reality for children and families in Gaza. Aid at scale must be allowed in urgently.

This is a man-made disaster.

Enough is enough. The United Nations must be allowed to deliver aid of all types at scale to families in Gaza, wherever they are.

The potential impact of reductions in international donor funding on tuberculosis in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study We estimate substantial potential impacts on tuberculosis morbidity and mortality due to reductions in international donor funding. Expanded support from domestic and international donors is essential...

Sobering study on the devastating impact of aid cuts on tuberculosis incidence and mortality in low and middle income countries

Governments of highest TB burden nations will need to wake up and invest more!

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Our work estimating the potential impacts of reductions in international donor funding for #TB is now out in @lancetgh.bsky.social:

bit.ly/3TDl28T

@raclark18.bsky.social @cfmcquaid.bsky.social @alexandra-richards.bsky.social @top-j.bsky.social @reinhouben.bsky.social @richardwhite321.bsky.social

The facts are simple and devastating: Aid cuts have already cost lives, and the number of deaths will continue to rise. Here’s the evidence. ​

Figure 1. Estimated number of trial endpoints in the control group of a prevention-of-disease vaccine trial in a high disease-burden setting showing number of endpoints on the y-axis and time in months on the x-axis. For bacteriologically confirmed symptomatic tuberculosis disease endpoints only, we estimate 69 endpoints, and for combined bacteriologically confirmed asymptomatic and symptomatic tuberculosis disease endpoints, we estimate 151 endpoints. Scenario assumes symptomatic disease incidence before trial screening of 300/100 000 per year and following 10 000 individuals over 3 years. Prevalent symptomatic and asymptomatic tuberculosis disease are screened out in month 0 and are not trial endpoints. Active screening occurs every 6 months for both scenarios and participants self-presenting with symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis disease would also be investigated.

In our latest personal view in @lancetrespirmed.bsky.social, we argue for the inclusion asymptomatic #tuberculosis in vaccine trial endpoints to potentially reduce the size, length, and cost of trials.

doi.org/10.1016/S221...

@lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social @tb-lshtm.bsky.social

Super stuff @petermacp.bsky.social @lightontb.bsky.social team!

Until there is a test for TB infection with higher specificity than IGRA, the use of the non-inferiority trial design for TB vaccine prevention of infection outcomes is not recommended.

@richardwhite321.bsky.social @cfmcquaid.bsky.social @reinhouben.bsky.social

The escalation of hostilities between #Israel and #Iran is putting health facilities and access to health care at risk. The reports on the attacks on health so far are appalling.

25th anniversary celebrations of the Introduction to Infectious Disease Our special event will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Introduction to Infectious Disease Modelling and its Applications course, delivered by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Can you believe it’s already been 25 years!?

Come join us on 20 June 2025 at 4pm UK time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Introduction to #Infectious Disease #Modelling course delivered by @lshtm.bsky.social and @ukhsa.bsky.social!

More info 👉 www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/e...

We know that undernourished persons with TB are at higher risk of mortality, but why?

My incredible mentee Dr. Alexa Tabackman tries to understand why in this new paper:

tinyurl.com/2jc76v8c

A thread 🧵
@buceid.bsky.social @bostonmedical.bsky.social @madhupai.bsky.social
@meganmurray.bsky.social

Xpert MTB/RIF® cycle threshold as a marker of TB disease severity; Implications for TB treatment stratification Introduction Recent trials have demonstrated that shortened four-month treatment durations are effective for the majority of people with tuberculosis (TB). However, there is a population of TB patient...

NEW PRE-PRINT (currently going through peer review)

In this secondary analysis of the RIFASHORT trial we classified TB disease severity at baseline and show that for the majority of people 4-months of rifampicin-based treatment, without the use of a quinolone, was non-inferior to the 6-month SOC.

@dopapus.bsky.social @laragosce.bsky.social @gasparrini.bsky.social @raclark18.bsky.social @juliapescarini.bsky.social @richardwhite321.bsky.social @reinhouben.bsky.social @lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social @tb-lshtm.bsky.social @lshtm.bsky.social

There's an urgent need for integration of TB response into national, regional & global climate response strategies, esp in areas w high burden of TB. Failure to act will not only stall progress to #endTB but will also exacerbate global health inequities and social disparities

But no studies directly linking climate change and TB, warranting research to build evidence for action

We reviewed the literature for key pathways, including food and water insecurity, displacement, and disrupted healthcare access. We found extensive evidence supporting the existence of plausible links between climate change and TB

We drew on existing knowledge of TB determinants, identified those likely to be sensitive to the effects of climate change, and conceptualised mechanistic pathways through which this might occur

Tuberculosis and climate change: analytical framework and knowledge gaps This report explores the intersection of tuberculosis (TB) and climate change, highlighting how climate-related challenges such as food and water insecurity, displacement, and disrupted healthcare acc...

TB & climate change: @who.int report out now, building on an analytical framework we developed to explore the intersections and implications for the TB epidemic. Key message? TB should be considered a climate-sensitive disease www.who.int/publications...

Amid all the bad news in Global Health, perhaps some good news? A first analysis on the risk of false positive diagnoses in community-screening for tuberculosis using Xpert shows our clinic-based data is likely (very) wrong and overestimates false positives by >80%: tinyurl.com/yfecute9.

Job Opportunity at LSHTM: Research Fellow The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health. Our mission is to is to improve health and healt...

Are you interested in #TB and have experience in #modelling infectious diseases?

Come join us in the TB Modelling Group at #LSHTM!

We're advertising for a 1 year Research Fellow position, with a closing date of 30 May 2025 👉 jobs.lshtm.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

Perceived Gender Equitable Norms and Previous Tuberculosis Testing in Malawi: A Secondary Analysis of a Cluster-based Prevalence Survey Substantial evidence demonstrates that men have a higher prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) and decreased use of TB services compared to women. Gender roles and norms contribute to these disparities by i...

New pre-print on perceptions of #gender equitable norms and #TB testing history in Malawi, led by @elizabeth-digi.bsky.social with @esnightingale.bsky.social @petermacp.bsky.social Helena Feasey, Rebecca Soko, Vincent Phiri, Liz Corbett @kchorton.bsky.social

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Just published: our qualitative study from South India on food insecurity in TB-affected households during COVID-19 lockdowns—and how a nutritional intervention helped.

📄 journals.plos.org/globalpublic...

@theunion.org @stoptb.bsky.social @tb-lshtm.bsky.social @madhupai.bsky.social

The potential impact of reductions in international donor funding on tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries Background Tuberculosis services in many settings rely heavily on international donor funding. In 2025, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was dismantled, and other countri...

#Tuberculosis prevention and care relies heavily on international donor funding in many settings. In our latest preprint, we examine the potential impact of reductions in international donor funding for #TB - by the US and by other major donor countries. 1/8

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Tuberculosis and the climate crisis in Latin America: a predicament of poverty, migration and displacement Tuberculosis (TB) has long been associated with poverty and displacement, through food insecurity, overcrowding, poor living conditions and reduced access to healthcare, which significantly increase t...

Climate-driven migration and displacement and their potential impact on TB in Latin America gh.bmj.com/content/10/4... @cfmcquaid.bsky.social @reinhouben.bsky.social @lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social

Line chart showing median number of TB deaths in 79 low- and middle-income countries from 2010 through 2040. A black line shows a decline from 1.25 million deaths in 2010 to just under 1 million deaths in 2024. A blue line shows the number of deaths staying constant through 2040 if 2024 funding and programmes are maintained. A red line shows the number of deaths increasing to 1.2 million in 2040 if US funding to national TB programmes is terminated.

New pre-print modelling impact of US funding cuts on HIV, #TB, MCH and family planning. We estimate impact of termination of US funding to NTPs via #USAID & The Global Fund may lead to 2.2 (1.5-2.9) million excess TB deaths between 2025 and 2040, reversing over a decade of progress.

bit.ly/4lowp18

Great to be able to finally get this work out, closing out my time with @lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social

The apparent apathy to ongoing genocides (bar some), increased focus on maintaining arms sales by HIC governments and decimated funding landscape especially for TB only going to make things much worse…. 😔

@dopapus.bsky.social

There is a pressing duty to address unmet chronic health needs of displaced people, including estimating burden & assessing current provision to effectively intervene.The need is there,& only likely to increase @lshtm.bsky.social @cmmid-lshtm.bsky.social @tb-lshtm.bsky.social @petedodd24.bsky.social

In our recent letter, with an incidence of 170,000 we found internally displaced people could bear nearly 2% of global TB incidence burden, & 4% of TB deaths. TB also accounts for 3.5% of all deaths in IDPs. As rates of displacement continue to climb this could reach 11% of all TB deaths by 2035